Quantum k-SAT Related Hypergraph Problems

TL;DR

This paper studies the Quantum k-SAT problem using hypergraph structures, identifying conditions under which it can be solved efficiently and highlighting the complexity of finding optimal cores.

Contribution

It introduces a graph-theoretic approach to Quantum k-SAT, analyzing core and radius structures to determine polynomial-time solvability.

Findings

Quantum k-SAT can be solved in polynomial time with certain hypergraph structures.

Finding a minimal core with minimal radius is NP-hard.

Hypergraph core and radius are key to understanding Quantum k-SAT complexity.

Abstract

The Quantum k-SAT problem is the quantum generalization of the k-SAT problem. It is the problem whether a given local Hamiltonian is frustration-free. Frustration-free means that the ground state of the k-local Hamiltonian minimizes the energy of every local interaction term simultaneously. This is a central question in quantum physics and a canonical QMA_1-complete problem. The Quantum k-SAT problem is not as well studied as the classical k-SAT problem in terms of special tractable cases, approximation algorithms and parameterized complexity. In this paper, we will give a graph-theoretic study of the Quantum k-SAT problem with the structures core and radius. These hypergraph structures are important to solve the Quantum k-SAT problem. We can solve a Quantum k-SAT instance in polynomial time if the derived hypergraph has a core of size n-m+a, where a is a constant, and the radius is at most logarithmic. If it exists, we can find a core of size n-m+a with the best possible radius in polynomial time, whereas finding a general minimum core with minimal radius is NP-hard.